Can a German asylum seeker marry in the UK?

Question

Hello,
Can you help me understand what's possible?

I am Dutch and I live with my two children (both also Dutch) in the UK since July  2014. We don't have an English passport, we live here as a Dutch family. I am self employed and my kids go to school here.

My son's dad is an asylum seeker in Germany. He is from Nigeria and he got a letter in October (last year) in which they told him that he is going to get his temporary residence. He is still waiting for that and in the meanwhile he is studying and looking for a job next to that.

Because of how our lives have gone we have never been married  but I am considering it now.  Do you have any idea if that is possible?

I am in fact wondering if he can come to the UK to get married here? Or should I go to Germany....or to the Netherlands?......if it's possible.

If it's not possible, why not? And if it is possible, which way would be the best way for us to do it?

Ps. We have a son of 10 years old.

Thank you for your answer.

Kind regards

Answer 1

Hello @Majorie

Welcome to our community and thank you for your question!

In this case it's basically all about the legal status of your fiancé. As an asylum seeker he is not allowed to travel. Now the question is what type of temporary residence permit will he get? Is it a so-called "Duldung", "subsidiärer Schutz" (subsidiary protection) or will he be a fully acknowledged refugee?

The latter would mean that he can travel to the UK or the Netherlands in order to marry you there.

Holding "Duldung" means that he is not allowed to leave Germany. With "subsidiärer Schutz" it's also not that easy to leave the country because he doesn't get travel documents. He needs his home country's passport and (maybe) a visa. So if he has "Duldung" or "subsidiärer Schutz" it's probably easier for you to get married in Germany.

(Note that he is allowed to marry no matter what his legal status is)

Best regards,

Thorgen

Comments

Hi! Thank you for your answer.

That's clear. Can I say something else....I honestly don't want to go and live in Germany when we get married.

Do you know where we are allowed to live together? I prefer here in the UK or go back to the Netherlands.

Are there different rules connected to the residence he might get? (the 3 types you mentioned)

Thank you very much for your answer.

Kind regards

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I'm glad to hear that my answer was helpful to you!

You are an EU citizen. That means that your future husband will get a residence permit that allows him to live/work within EU. The legal status he gets as a result of the asylum procedure doesn't play a role in this case anymore because it's outweighed by the residence permit he will be granted through the marriage.

Best regards

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Thank you again for your answer.

Do I understand it well if see it like this:

1. We can absolutely get married but we just need to know what kind of residence permit he will get so we can know where is allowed to get married.

2. When we are married we can choose were we want to live because I am a EU citizen and when we are married he will get a residence permit that allows him to live and work anywhere within the EU.

Did I understand it correctly?

The last question I have is: does the country where we get married give him the residence permit or will it be Germany because he is an asylum seeker there?

Thank you very much for your answer.

Kind regards

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Yes, you understood everything correctly.

There is only one risk concerning the first point on your list, if your fiancé gets the legal status of "Duldung". It means that he doesn't get a refugee protection status - he is only allowed to stay in Germany because there are reasons for which he can't get sent back to his home country. One of those reasons could be that German authorities don't have his passport which they need in order to deport him. That's the crux of the matter because you need to submit your passports at registry office to marry. If they inform the German aliens department about it, they can deport him. But as I said: only if he has Duldung and if the missing passport is the reason for suspension of deportation.

Concerning the residence permit: I think you will have to get in contact with the Dutch aliens department since you are a Dutch citizen. They are responsible to issue it for your husband.

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Thank you again for your answer. It really helps me to understand it better.

As far as I know he will not get the Duldung because they checked his case and he got a letter from court that says that he can stay. A lawyer explained to him that he now  has to wait for a letter from BAMF.

Do you know hos this BAMF work?

Thank you for your answer.

Kind regards

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Sorry, I forgot to say that he has got his Nigerian passport.

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Is there anything specific about BAMF that you want to know?

In general, it's not unusual that you have to wait a while to receive a notification from them because they have a lot of cases to deal with. So you have to be patient.

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Thank you for your answer.

There is nothing specific I would like to know about them. I was wondering if you knew them but you're answer already made that clear.

The only thing I would like to understand is if there are limitations for us if he would get the subsidiary protection?

I understand the implications if he would get the Duldung but what if he gets the temporary residence called subsidiary protection?

Thank you again for your answer.

Kind regards

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@Majorie

Subsidiary protection is a slightly weaker protection status than being a fully recognized refugee. At the beginning it's usually limited to 1 year, but it can be prolonged (and it will be, as long as the situation in his home country doesn't get better).

As I mentioned above your fiancé won't get traveling documents and would need his own passport (+visa) in order to travel abroad. In other words: it might be the easiest way to marry in Germany for you two (in case he gets that legal status). But apart from that there shouldn't be any additional hurdles. Gathering, verifying and translating all the required documents will take a while (up to several months), but there should be enough time for you to do so.

Best regards,

Thorgen

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Thank you for your answer. That's very clear!

In the Netherlands we have two things we can consider before we get married:
1. marriage under marital conditions and 2. marriage under community of property.

Do  you also have that there in Germany?

Thank you again for your answer!

Kind regards

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Can you briefly summarize what that means?

In Germany you can either marry at registry office (aka Standesamt - that's the less 'romantic' and more technical way) or in church (if you want to add a religious touch to it). Both is sufficient to have a legally binding marriage. But due to legal factors it's better to opt for a wedding at registry office because it grants you more rights later on (e.g. concerning inheritance law etc.).

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Thank you for your answer.

Yes I briefly summarize that. Number 1 basically means that everything you have at the moment of marriage becomes common, both the benefits and the costs, not only all goods but also all debts. Number 2 means that both of you go to a solicitor first to put things on paper before you get married. This option is for couples who decide the following things:
- to remain financially independent on principle grounds.
- that equity goes to their own children.
- that if one of the partners has huge debts the other partner doesn't suffer because any risk with
  creditors is excluded.